Tuesday, January 15, 2008

sleep deprived

this was how my night went:
put fred to sleep at 10:00.
he woke up 40 minutes later.
spent 20 minutes trying to get him to burp.
he woke up again at 11:something
again at 12:something. i fed him.
he woke up at 2:something.
again at 3:something
again at 4:something. i fed him again.
woke up at 5:something
again at 5:somthing more
dan's alarm went off at 6:00. i fiercely ordered him to be quiet.
fred wakes up at 6:20
dan leaves at 6:30.
chloe comes running in crying, "he's leaving!" she tries to catch him but it's too late. she comes back crying. i'm holding fred and tell her, "i just got him back to sleep. i didn't get any sleep last night. i cannot handle any crying. if you want to cry go back in your room and shut the door."
miracle of miracles, she replies, "ok" and leaves.
fred wakes at 7:something. i fed him.
wakes again at 8:something. and we start our day.

its not always this bad but its never good. he rarely sleeps longer than two hours. its weird to me that the main question about babies is, "how is he sleeping?" i feel like the quality of my mothering is being judged based on his sleep habits.
the problem is he is very sensitive to what i eat. he squirms all night long. sometimes he's able to let out some gas but usually he just has blow outs the next morning.
things i can't eat while breastfeeding:
  • dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt, icecream....)
  • anything spicy (mexican, curry, salsa)
  • anything considered gassy (beans, broccoli, cabbage)
  • citric fruit
  • chocolate

things i think he might not like:

  • whole grains (oatmeal, granola bars)
  • nuts (peanut butter)
  • eggs
  • edemame
  • small doses of problem foods, like just one little bite of chloe's quesadilla.

living off of meat, bread, rice, crackers, and pasta is not easy. plus, carbs contribute to insomnia (not something i need). do you know how appealing a grilled cheese sandwich is when you can't have one? i make small slips everyday. this is why he is gassy and squirms all night. this is why i am tired. this is why i am an impatient mother to chloe and stella. this is why i am a grumpy wife. and out of shape, and my house is messy, and stella isn't potty trained--everything can be blamed on lack of sleep, right?

sometimes, in the middle of the night, i feel like quiting nursing and feeding him the pre-digested formula that he can handle. but i know i'm way too lazy to prepare bottles and wash bottles and pack bottles when we leave the house. i'm all for letting the baby cry it out. but only when i know he is tired, has a clean diaper, doesn't have to burp, and isn't uncomfortable (gassy). i just can't sleep when he is crying. even if i can't hear him, if i know he's crying i won't be able to sleep. should i let him cry even if he's gassy? how long after i eat an offensive food will it effect him? i'm hoping he will out-grow it soon.

well, i just needed to vent, i guess. but if anyone has read this far, maybe you can give advice.

13 comments:

heat said...

katie, I'm so sorry.
When Asa was a baby I took him into the chiropractor. He did some pops here and there which made a huge difference in the way he slept. Also I picked up homeopathic infant gas drops from the health food store. Both seemed to help.

k8theriver said...

mylicon drops don't work but i'll try the health food store.
danika just called and suggested a chiropractor also. so i'll look into that.
thanks

daisy said...

Babies usually show signs of food sensitivity between four and 24 hours after nursing. If you were to eliminate the questionable food, Fred should be back to normal within 24 hours. But with all the foods that you think he is sensitive too it could be hard to know what "normal" really is.

My questions are: How is nursing going during the day? How often is he nursing? Is he having a longer stretch between feeding during the day? Does he seem fussy at all during his feedings or right after? How are his moods and sleeping habits during the day? Were your other girls allergic to the foods you were eating?

Email me at: daisysuescott@hotmail.com

Being a tired mom is sooooo hard. Maybe we can find a way to help Fred.

Liz Stanley said...

oh that sounds awful!!! i'm so sorry. i also heard about some homeopathic drops at wild oats...

idon'tremembereatingcorn said...

deja vu!

LoGunns said...

My friend said that mylicon did not work for her son but "gripe water" did. I think it might be the one Heather and Liz were talking about at the health food store.

Em-Cat said...

OK...so I never have had a kid nor have I ever breastfed, but have you tried giving him some probiotics? There are a lot of different strains of probiotics out there, but the most well known is Acidopilus.

His digestive track may be off and a good probiotic will set him right. You can find powdered probiotics specifically formulated for infants. The one I'm most familiar with is "BabyLife" by Solaray. It's a strain called Bifidobacterium Infantis.

Em-Cat said...

P.S. I've heard the BabyLife works really well.

Chanell said...

I don't know how you do it. Does he sleep during the day? He must be exhausted. Even sleep deprived, I think you are such a great mom with the the cutest, coolest kids(and there aren't very many "cool" kids. I hope it gets better. I use the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, but that is mostly about sleeping issues and schedules. I don't know if it talks about when their stomach hurts. I'll go and look. Good Luck!

jordan said...

Yeah, I can barely find foods to eat when I eliminate dairy. If I used your list I wouldn't have anything left.

Anonymous said...

Hi Katie

Take it from this old mom- it's a no-brainer-FORMULA!!!! it's really no big deal to wash bottles and get them ready to take with you. Your sleep and your quality of life is more importatant than feeling bad about giving Fred formula. You will all feel better. Too bad you are so far away, I work for 2 great Chiropractors that treat infants from time to time with great success. I guess Vermont is too far away for an appointment. Good luck and remember-FORMULA is OK-really!
Love, Aunt Laura

k8theriver said...

thanks aunt laura but fred has an even harder time digesting formula. :(
gripe water doesn't work but i just bought the probiotic. i might still try a chiropractor,

Anonymous said...

didn't know you already tried formula. oh well. maybe try the chiropractor- they just might help a bit. the woman I work with has a grandson who was going thu the same thing except he was on formula and one of our doctors helped him. I know how tired you are-Mike didn't sleep much till he was 3 and we didn't have any other kids at the time. hope things get better and fred's system calms down. love seeing the pictures of the kids-they are great fun. hang in there-I guess everyone is full of advise-just have to keep trying stuff I guess. love, aunt laura